Nikon Corporation announced a newly established partnership agreement with the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY). Through this program, Nikon will join the Global 450 mm Consortium (G450C) headquartered at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE).
As part of this partnership with G450C, Nikon will provide its industry-leading 450 mm ArF immersion scanner to the Albany NanoTech Complex. In addition, Nikon will supply engineering staff and wafer patterning services to support and accelerate the development of 450 mm wafer technology. Scheduled for delivery in April 2015, this 450 mm wafer ArF immersion lithography system will be used by G450C member companies for process development, characterization and demonstrations. Nikon aims for standardization of 450 mm wafer ArF immersion lithography systems by offering early opportunities to develop 450 mm processes.
Announced by New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in September of 2011, the G450C is a joint program that includes representatives from Intel, IBM, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, TSMC and Samsung─five of the key worldwide companies working to create the next generation of computer chip technologies. Located in the Albany NanoTech Complex at CNSE, the G450C is working to make the industry transition from 300 mm to 450 mm wafer production as smooth and efficient as possible. The consortium will leverage industry and government investments, as well as the state-of-the-art infrastructure at CNSE to demonstrate and deploy 450 mm wafer equipment and processing capabilities. This program has significant potential benefits to the global nanoelectronics industry. “Nikon is honored to become an Associate Member of the G450C, which leads the worldwide industry transition to 450 mm,” said Kazuo Ushida, Nikon Corporation Executive Vice President and Precision Equipment Company President.
The G450C contract follows recent orders that Nikon has received from a major device manufacturer for 450 mm ArF immersion lithography systems. Ushida said, “These latest orders and this partnership with G450C validate the industry’s approval and confidence in the comprehensive Nikon 450 mm development program. Nikon also anticipates increased orders from other device manufacturers in time for shipments of high volume manufacturing systems scheduled in 2017.
